Senior Leaders Skipping Entry-Level Interviews: How Can We Motivate Them to Participate?

Sometimes, it so happens that senior leaders are too busy with their core work that they don't find time to conduct interviews, especially when it's for entry-level Graduate Engineer Trainees (GETs). The issue is that conducting interviews is neither linked to their Key Result Areas (KRAs) nor is there a monetary incentive for it. Consequently, there is no motivation for senior leaders to travel the distance to conduct interviews. How can we address this challenge?

Your company must set up a standard policy on interviews for jobs. For entry-level candidates, include the concerned manager, HR representative, and one independent manager from another department. For higher-level positions, involve the senior manager from the concerned department, the HR manager, and one additional person. Senior employees should understand that the recruitment of the right employees directly impacts them, as it relates to their Key Result Areas (KRAs) since human capital ultimately makes the difference. In my opinion, for entry-level positions, it may not be necessary for top-level executives to be directly involved.

If a leader does not conduct interviews or does not have enough time to select the right candidate, then he/she does not have any right to scold or complain to the jobseeker after they have joined. This is because during the interview process, we assess an interviewer based on our own perceptions, and every individual has their own unique perspective.

Dear Deep,

The major difference between a leader and a non-leader is that leaders are self-motivated. They do not need any external factors to motivate them. Your problem is that you do not have a proper leader. Fix this root cause first. Other things will follow.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

"Your problem is that you do not have a proper leader. Fix this root cause first. Other things will follow."

Fully agree with this statement. If they had a leader, they would need no motivation to do what is right for the organization. Actually, the query should have been how to motivate senior managers to conduct interviews. There is a vast difference between managers and leaders (of course, some similarities also).

I was thinking of somehow branding the interview process so that people should feel proud and boast that they are "the chosen few" who take interviews for the organization. How's the thought, and suggestions in this regard are also welcome.

Dear Deep, It appears that in your company, primary and secondary duties are not well-defined. Generally, managers/HODs are expected to spend 80% of their time on primary duties and 20% on secondary duties. Twenty percent roughly works out to one working day per week. You should issue a circular to this effect.

Secondly, the managers do not take pride in selecting GETs. This could be because they might not have an affiliation towards the organization. I have been told that when Google hires someone, they generally have a five-round selection process. Managers or other seniors nominate themselves for the interviews. Therefore, the selection may take place in the Asian continent, but the interviewer may be nominated from Europe or the US. Their voluntary nomination speaks volumes. Interviewers volunteer to nominate because Google places great importance on building the company's culture. They give more importance to whether the candidate is fit to be a Googler or not than anything else.

Recommendation for Sensitizing Senior Management

I recommend sensitizing your senior management personnel on the role of recruitment in building the organization's culture. You have asked for their motivation because they do not understand the gravity behind it. The selection of misfit candidates spells disaster for the company. Possibly, they may leave on their own or they may be asked to leave, but they leave their legacy behind, and this legacy pollutes the organization's culture.

One way to sensitize the managers on the seriousness of recruitment is to train them in "Interview Handling Skills." If you are interested in training them, feel free to contact me.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar